An Arizona Republic review of budget requests for fiscal year 2020 identified more than 15 agencies asking for higher pay through the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting. Together, they represent more than 27,000 of the state's roughly 37,000 employees.

The agencies submit their lists of needs and wants each year to inform the governor's annual executive-budget proposal, released in mid-January.

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee's most recent financial projections indicate the state could have a surplus of more than $825 million for officials to use, though Ducey's budget office uses its own estimates.

The agencies used identical language to appeal to the governor for raises, indicating some level of prior coordination with budget staff. They said they'd identified specific positions needing "compensation adjustments" and argued higher pay would "reduce high turnover and vacancy rates, resulting in a more efficient government."

They did not suggest specific amounts or percentages.

Agency directors acknowledged the governor is prioritizing public-safety funding as he prepares his budget. But they said Ducey "is uniquely positioned to collaborate across public safety and non-public safety departments, identifying critical compensation challenges and crafting the best solution that is appropriate for each."

Gov. Doug Ducey speaks as Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Senator John McCain looks on during the Republican watch party at the DoubleTree Resort in Scottsdale on Nov. 6, 2018. David Wallace/The Republic

Gov. Doug Ducey speaks as Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Senator John McCain looks on during the Republican watch party at the DoubleTree Resort in Scottsdale on Nov. 6, 2018. David Wallace/The Republic

Gov. Doug Ducey speaks to supporters Nov. 6, 2018, during the Arizona Republican Party Election Night party in Scottsdale. Ducey won his re-election against Democratic challenger David Garcia. Michael Chow/The Republic

Gov. Doug Ducey signs an autograph for a supporter during the Arizona Republican Party Election Night party in Scottsdale, Ariz. Nov. 6, 2018. Ducey is won his re-election against Democratic challenger David Garcia. Michael Chow/The Republic

David Garcia, Democratic candidate for Arizona governor, hugs his children as he exits the stage at the election night watch party on Nov. 6, 2018, at the Renaissance Hotel in Phoenix. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

1. Technology upgrades wanted

Several agencies sought funding to upgrade or replace systems they called slow, obsolete or vulnerable to hacking.

The Department of Administration, for instance, has requested nearly $22.3 million to create a statewide "Cyber Risk Fund" to minimize the risk of a potential data breach.

Arizona has no mechanism to handle such a breach, according to ADOA officials, and "most state agencies do not have an emergency action plan in place in the event of an incident."

Some agencies have pursued cyber-risk insurance, but coverage varies. The piecemeal approach isn't cost-efficient, according to ADOA.

The department also requested $2.1 million to create a data hub to consolidate the thousands of databases state workers maintain.

“The longer we wait to begin this work, the more we risk exposing our schools to hardship.”

Department of Education request

One government division uses about 10,000 desktop databases for reporting, according to ADOA, and one of the state's largest agencies can't use a single data source to tell it how many customers it serves.

"The state has centralized governance processes in place for every other asset including buildings, inventories, human resources, vehicles, surplus, computers, fixed assets, roads," officials wrote. "But we lack centralized governance over and access to our sole non-depletable, non-degrading, durable asset — data."

The Department of Education, for its part, painted a dire picture of its school-finance system.

The system is "nearly unusable because of the age of the system and the lack of funding for proper maintenance," officials wrote, asking for $3 million to continue upgrade efforts.

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The Department of Public Safety has asked for about $1.9 million to fully staff overnight patrols in the southern part of the state via 11 additional troopers and a sergeant.

"With the addition of 12 more positions, the Highway Patrol will be able to have a presence throughout the day to deter and disrupt smugglers and other offenders, to provide general highway safety, and to provide back-up for sheriffs’ deputies and other law enforcement officers working at night," officials wrote.

“A single error, anywhere in the process, can result in missing information, inaccurate records, significant delays and many hours of research and work.”

Department of Public Safety request

The DPS asked for an additional $8.8 million to add a new helicopter to its fleet, to be used for both law enforcement and search-and-rescue missions.

Industry experts recommend replacing helicopters after 10 years or 10,000 flight hours. The helicopter the agency wants to replace is 19 years old and "needs immediate replacement to ensure safe and cost-effective operations," officials wrote.

The Department of Transportation in its request asked for $1.2 million to improve security at 10 ports of entry, including about $235,200 for K-9 units.

Four of those ports of entry fall along the Arizona-Mexico border.

And the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission asked for $1.8 million to implement the first year of a proposed $6.8 million effort to create a statewide system that links criminal records and other information used by federal, state, local and tribal agencies.

Almost a third of criminal-history records in the state are not properly linked to arrest records, according to the commission, and the warrant system remains paper-based.

"A single error, anywhere in the process, can result in missing information, inaccurate records, significant delays and many hours of research and work," the request says.

And because prospective employees in both public- and private-sector jobs commonly submit to criminal-background checks, "the need for complete and accurate criminal records reach far beyond the criminal justice community."

3. Infrastructure requests

The Department of Transportation also asked for $2.4 million to operate and maintain the new portion of Loop 202, known as the South Mountain Freeway.

The 22-mile stretch "was planned to connect the east and west Valley communities and provide an alternative to the (Interstate) 10."

A combination of voter-approved sales-tax revenue and federal funding is paying for construction of the addition, which ADOT expects to finish in November 2019.

If approved, the operations and maintenance funding would kick in at that point.

Arizona State Parks and Trails in its request asked for about $700,000 for park upkeep, renovations and repairs.